Spring takes it sweet time warming up our corner of the Maine woods. Making brightly colored crafts is the perfect diversion from freezing temperatures and graying snow banks. I spied some tiny pompoms chicks at JoAnn's back in March and grabbed them with this egg project in mind. I haven't made these eggs since I was my daughter's age. I remember being entranced by creating scenes inside the eggs.
Gather together the following materials and get crafty with us. All the steps require adult help and supervision. This craft is not suitable for young children.
- White eggs
- Straight pins
- Glass bowl
- Paper towel
- Acrylic paints and paintbrush
- Empty bottles
- Candle wax (recycle candle stubs)
- Sauce pan
- Tin can, label removed
- Crayon stubs, light & bright colors work best
- Small paper cups
- Toothpicks
- Animal miniatures, tiny butterflies & silk flowers
- Mini Rick rack trim
- Glue gun
No tedious egg blowing is required. Poke holes into the center of the raw eggs with a straight pin. Make holes right next to each other until the shell gives way. You need an opening that is at least an inch wide and one and a half inches tall. Dump the egg yolk and white into a bowl and rinse out the egg with water. Gently dry your egg with paper towel.
Use a tiny pair scissors and carefully trim the broken edge to flatten it. Don't be overly concerned with uniformity, in the last step you'll cover the edge with trim.
Paint the exterior of the egg with acrylic paint. Work around the opening first. We found it helped to balance the egg, hole side down, over a the center section of the egg carton or a bottle top. This trick enables you to paint the entire surface without making fingerprints in the wet paint. While the paint dries decide which miniatures you're going to place in each egg.
Fill the bottom third of your sauce pan with water and place it over medium heat. Fill the tin can with wax and stand it in the boiling water. Once the wax has melted use an oven mitt to pick up the can and pour a small amount (less than a quarter cup) into a paper cup. Color the wax by adding a pea sized piece of crayon into the hot wax. Use a toothpick to stir the crayon color into the wax.
Color the wax by adding a pea sized piece of crayon into the hot wax. Use a toothpick to stir the crayon color into the wax. Work quickly so the wax doesn't set. Pour the colored wax into the egg. Rotate the egg to coat the entire inside with wax.
Work quickly so the wax doesn't set. Pour the colored wax into the egg. Rotate the egg to coat the entire inside with wax. Repeat the process using a new paper cup for each wax color.
Orient the egg in the desired position allowing the excess wax to pool at the bottom. Gently press the base of the miniatures into the warm wax. Set the egg back in the carton while it cools. Repeat the process using a new paper cup for each wax color. If the wax begins hardening you can either microwave the cup or add more hot wax from the can to help liquify it.
The final step is to hot glue trim around the egg openings. Heat up the glue gun and apply a line of glue around the outside edge. Working off the spool press the rick rack into the glue. Cut the length when you've encircled the opening and reached your starting point. You can camouflage the connection with a small silk flower or ribbon.
Happy spring!